Greece Warned Over Games Ban

Posted by simoniker on Friday July 25, 2003 @07:02PM from the destroy-all-joypads-now dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for their article discussing the European Commission's formal warning to Greece over the country's attempt to ban all videogames last year. The article summarizes: "The law stirred up anger and disbelief after it resulted in several arrests and the closure of Internet cafes. Although Greece later clarified that the law only prohibits gambling-related games, the EC was 'unsatisfied' with the response and has sent a formal notice requesting more information." According to a lawyer familiar with the case, "The way the Greek law was drafted was an absolute mess. It was drafted so widely that using a PlayStation at home would amount to a breach of the law - which is ridiculous." Would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for that meddling European Commission.

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Is it just me... by leviramsey · 2003-07-25 20:33 · Score: 0, Offtopic

...or is Greece trying their hardest to embarrass themselves nowadays?

I mean, first of all it's far from certain that all the construction required for next-year's Olympics in Athens will be completed on time. Indeed, substantial portions of the construction have yet to even start, and the mess of building regulations (especially concerning archaeological finds) makes construction iffy. It's only the Olympics, the biggest sporting event on Earth (especially in financial terms), and if Greece comes off looking poorly in this, it makes them look bad to nearly every country on Earth.

Then, on top of that, they've got an incompetently worded ban on videogames... Jesus H Christ!